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Are you ready for the test?
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At the end of March this year I travelled to Living Word International Church in Slough UK to do a session with the workers team. I know I usually report on dramatic preaching meetings but the work I do for some churches supporting their on-going growth and development is just as important. So I want to give you a feel for what I shared with them this time. It may encourage or challenge you or if you are a leader of a church you could avail yourself of our services in a similar manner.
On this Saturday afternoon I taught the workers and leaders about “The Leadership Test”
I began by explaining how nearly every moment of life is a test. Most products are tested before being brought into production so that when we buy them we expect to be able to rely on them. In the same way there are seasons of testing from God. Such a test from God is intended to promote you and qualify you for the next level.
A test reveals what you are made of and determines if you respond poorly, or have become stagnant, or if you have grown. Tests from God are always on the inside because He wants you to mature and grow.
I then went through 10 tests that most of us have to face and will go through if we want to grow in our leadership. I have listed them here. Check them out and see if they are familiar to you. I myself can recognise going through many of these in my own leadership growth
1 The test of small things-proves your faithfulness. How did you handle just being asked to do a small task that was perhaps below your level of ability?
2 The motivation test-a test when you are doing right to see why you are doing it.
3 The stewardship test-to see how strategic and generous you handle the resources you presently control. This tells God the truth about your value system.
4 The wilderness test-when you are spiritually dry it reveals your potential for change and growth.
I personally remember going through this in 2007 when a gracing to pastor seemed to lift and I just kept on turning up week after week and doing what I knew to do when nothing seemed to be working. I did not know what was happening but I kept close to the Lord and trusted Him in the midst of it. That was not easy as my father died in the middle of it and my mother in law at the end of it. It was a winter season for me but I kept holding out for spring. I did not realise what God was doing but within a few months we had closed the church and I had embarked on changing Living Word into the ministry operation you see today. When I did that I stepped out with no idea of what was to come. I just trusted God.
Within days I had met someone in Dr Will Pantin who invited me to minister with him in Pakistan. It totally changed me and pushed me forward in kingdom ministry with signs following that I know I am still walking in today. The rest is history as they say. God is always working for our good.
5 The credibility test-tests our integrity to see if we compromise under pressure. I feel this is so important to see if we have integrity and an undivided heart towards God. It shows up who you are when you are all alone and nobody sees.
6 The authority test-exposes your attitude and willing submission toward God given authority
7 The forgiveness test-shows your willingness to forgive others
8 The warfare test-exposes your ability to stand when you are in God’s will and experience adversity
9 The test of time-reveals the quality of your work based on opportunity and longevity.
Some regard this as what happens in the silent years when you just knuckle down and get on with doing your assignment. Even Jesus had this test. We see in Luke 2:51-52 how He spent 18 years submitting to His family and growing in wisdom and favour before ever His ministry that we know was launched to the world. There is no substitute for it.
10 The Lordship test-in an area of natural strength where you feel you don’t need God. It reveals you heart response to whom or what has the final authority in your life.
At the end of my session in Slough everyone was buzzing because it had touched at least one area they could recognise and challenged them over what their response may be in the future. One of the leaders came up to me after and explained that I had highlighted a test that he saw immediately he was going through right then. So it helped him to know how to deal with it.
I am certain that the list I gave that day is not exhaustive. However I would be interested to see if you recognise any of these in your life and how you handled them. How has God used that test to change and grow your ministry or business?
Do drop me a line and let me know. I believe it is so important because God wants us to grow so He needs us to pass the test!!
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Tony Sheard
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Anouncement
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Watch this space as we are in the middle of refreshing the Living Word UK website.
When it is completed do visit and let us know what you think.
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Tony ministering in Pakistan Feb 2012
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